Apparatus for cleaning and scouring peanuts



B. F. WALTERS. Apparatus for Cleaning and Scouring Peanuts, 8E0.

No. 224,810. Pafented Feb. 24, 880.

1 [0| 0 obo o ML 1 w "w M m H1 IllH-H NLFEI'ERS, PNOTQ-UTHOGRAPHEE WASHINGTON. D. C.

l i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. WALTERS, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND SCOURING PEANUTS, 86C,

SPECIFICATION 'forming part of Letters Patent No. 224,810, dated February 24, 1880. Application filed December 1, 1879.

To all whom {t may concern Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. of Norfolk, in the-county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Cleaners; and

I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full,

clear, and exact descriptionof the invention,

thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improved construction of therotating cylinders or screens which are used for separating dirtand other foreign matter from nuts, grain, 8210., and also. i for polishing and improving the appearance and quality of the material to be cleansed, my improvements being especially applicable to the rotating cylinders or screens which are used in cleaning peanuts and preparing them for market.

Heretofore in thefcleaning of these'articles it has been customary tocompel the nuts to pass through a revolvin g cylinder, and afterward subject them to variousfanning,screenin g, and separating operations.

The cylinders that have been used for this purpose have generally been either mounted upon acentral shaft, or have been suspended inand rotated by supporting-belts, inder having at thefeed end and charge end inwardly-turned flanges attached p to and rotating with the cylinder. The end each cylat the disflanges have been constructed and arranged to leave large central openings, through which the nutsare, respectively, fed anddisch arged but the cylinders thus constructed with rota-15 ing'heads have been found defective in that cyliuderto retain the nuts in large enough the large central openings will not permit the quantitiesorfor a-time long enough to thorfoughly effect the] separation and removal of the um; and they havebeen further found inconvenient and defective in that it is impossible tocause the cylinders to completely empty themselves automatically, it being necessary often to entirely empty them-as,for in-l stance, whenitis desired to passanother grade or quality of materialthrough the cylinders,

a. or when it is desired to obtain access to the cylinders for cleansing or repairing the same.

WALTERS,

entirely, it has been necessary to stop them and rake 'out the lodged materials, or otherwise remove them by hand.

My invention has for its object the avoidance of these defects by so constructingthe machine that the nuts can accumulatein large enough quantities, and be retained long enough to be thoroughly cleaned and polished, and that the cylinders at any time can be caused to empty themselves automatically and discharge all their contents, and that ready access may be had at any time to the interior of the cylinders.

To these ends it consists, first, in combining, with a rotating cylinder which is fed and discharged automatically through the ends, stationary heads which entirely close the feed end and the discharge end of the cylinder, except at one point in each head, where there are small openings between the periphery and the axis of the cylinder for the feed and for the discharge.

The invention consists, secondly, in combining, with a cylinder constructed and as aforesaid, two stationary heads provided with small apertures between the periphery and the axis of the cylinder for feeding and discharging, respectively, which apertures are situated on the side of the axis of the cylinder opposite to theside on which the nutsare being elevated. 1 l

The invention consists, thirdly, in combining, with a cylinder constructed and operating as aforesaid, two heads which may partially or entirely close the respective ends of the cylinder, and which are arranged to be reciprocated toward and from the cylinder.

The invention consists, fourthly, in combining, with the cylinder constructed and operating as aforesaid, a non-rotating head for the discharge end, the whole or part of which may im 'irovements, to beherelnafter set forth.

The cylinder-may be mounted upon a central shaft, or be suspended in belts,or he supported on rollers; or it may be mounted operating and operated in any other convenient or de sired manner; and the cylinder may be supplied by any ofthe well-known feeding devices,

end view of a head when applied to a cylinder suspended in belts. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the devices shown in Fig. 5.

In the construction shown the cylinder A is mounted on a central shaft, B. This shaft may be mounted in brackets depending from the ceiling or standards resting upon the floor.

The wall of the cylinder may be made of reticulated material, as wire-cloth, or of slats, the latter being preferablein cylinders for cleaning nuts. When slats are employed they are held in place by being fastened to rings or bands 0 O at the ends of the cylinder. These rings or bands are connected to the central shaft, B, by means of spokes or radial arms D D of any suitable number.

In order to compel the material to gradually pass through the cylinder it may be inclined slightly, or, preferably, it may be provided with lifting-ribs arranged in spiral or inclined positions, so as to slowly force the nuts to- .ward the discharge end.

E represents a non-rotating head situated at the end of the cylinder, where the nuts are fed into it. This head may be formed of any convenient material, either sheet metal or cast.

F is an aperturein the head E, through which the nuts are fed to the cylinder by means of a hopper, G, and spout H, or by any preferred feed devices. This opening F is situated on the side of the axis of the cylinder opposite to the side upon which the nuts are elevated, in order to prevent accidental escape of the nuts at the feed end.

When the cylinder is in operation it is rotated in the direction of the arrow, and the nuts (by means of the lifting-ribs and of the momentum received from the cylinder) are carried up to and beyond the central vertical plane of the cylinder in a constant stream; and in order to retain a large mass of nuts within the cylinder and prevent their escaping at the aperture F it is necessary that said aperture should be situated at some distance away from the path of the falling nutsthat is to say, between the axis and the side where the slats and ribs descend.

I is a non-rotating head at the discharge end of the cylinder, which may be constructed substantially similar to the head E. K represents a discharge-opening in the head I,said opening being situated analogously to the feedopening F. Y

L is a small chute or shelf adapted to catch the falling nuts and guide them to the open- This shelf or chute may be horizontal or inclined, and may be rigidly attached to or cast with the head I, (see Fig. 4 orit maybe adjustahly attached to the head, so as to be adapted to. regulate the discharge. (See Fig. 1.) I From an examination of the drawings it will be seen that when the cylinder and heads are constructed in the manner described the nuts will not escape from the aperture K until the cylinder is filled to the height of said aperture, and by this means the nuts can be accumulated in the cylinder to an amount many times greater than they can in the open-endedcylinders ordinarilyemployed, and this greater accumulation results in a more thorough cleansing and polishing.

The heads E and I may, if desired, be made permanently stationary in place by bolting them to the brackets or standards in which the shaft B is mounted, or by screwing them to the floor or to some other fixed part of the structure; but in order to attain very important advantages I mount the heads in the manner shown-that is, they are supported in such way that when it is desired to compel the nuts to escape from the aperture K the dischargehead can be moved and held close to the end of the cylinder; but when it is desired to rapidly empty the cylinder the head I can be readily withdrawn far enough to permit the nuts to escape below the lower edge of the head and from the bottom of the cylinder, and so that when it is, desired to obtain access to the interior of the cylinder for cleansing or repairing the same either or both of the heads may be withdrawn for such purpose.

The heads are shown as supported upon screws N, passing through the shaft-support, which screws can be caused to move the heads to and from the cylinder, as may be desired.

The discharge-head I maybe constructed in two parts, if desired, the lower part, I, of which may be readily detached from the upper part, so as to leave the cylinder open at the bottom for rapidly emptying the same. The lower part, I, may be connected with the upper part in any desired way, as by ways, permitting said part I to slide to and from its place, or by hinges, or by any other preferred means of connection.

Mrepresents a slide or door wherewith the aperture K may be partly or entirely closed, though 1 have found the discharge can be sufficiently regulated by means of the feeding devices.

I find it sometimes advantageous to mountthe cylinder A loosely upon the shaft B, in order that the shaft may serve as a support for ropes or pieces of other similar rough material. The ropes are tied to the shaft at one end, and are permitted to drag through the nuts, and they greatly assist in cleansing and polishing the same and in breaking ofi' roots and stems.

In Fig. 5 I have shown my improved head as adapted to be applied to a cylinder supported in belts. In this the head is cast with a standard, whereby it can be rigidly attached to the floor.

What I claim is- 1. The combination, with a rotating cylinderwhich is fed through one end and emptied through the opposite end, of the non-rotating heads arranged to close the ends of the rotating cylinder, through which non-rotating heads the material passes, respectively, to the interior of and from the cylinder while it is rotatin g, substantially as set forth. 1

2.".Lhe combination, with an end-feeding "and end-discharging rotary cleaning-cylinder, of a non-rotating head, of which the whole or a part can be moved to and from the end of the cylinder to permit the rapid emptying of thesame, substantially as set forth.

. l 3. The combination, with an end-feeding and end-discharging rotary cleaning-cylinder, of a stationary head arranged to close the end at which the cylinder is fed, and provided with afeed-openin gbetween the axis and the periphery of the cylinder on the side opposite to that where the nuts are elevated, and a stationary head arranged to close the discharge end of [the cylinder, and provided with a dischargeopening between the axis and the periphery of the cylinder on the side opposite to that where the nuts are:elevated, substantially as setforth.

4. The combination, with a rotary cleaningcylinder, a non-rotatin g head at one end of the cylinder, through which the material is fed, and a non-rotating head at the opposite end of the cylinder, through which the material is discharged, of an in ward] y-projectin g spout or shelf supported upon the non-rotating dis-' charge-head,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with a rotary cleaningcylinder into and from which the material passes through the respective ends, of non-roconstructed in two parts, otwhioh one can be removed from proximity to the cylinder independently of the other, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with a rotary cleaningcylinder and a non-rotating head, of the screws N N, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing 1 have hereunto set my hand.

B. F. WALTERS Witnesses:

GEORGE LOYALL, JOSEPH HOLLAND. 

